Device for spreading bitumen



March 25, 1930; c. G. TALBOTT DEVICE FOR SPREADING BITUMEN Filed Nov. 2, 1926 INVENTOR CHARLES G.TALBOTT 2 ATTORNE;

used uoon apartment. houses, factory builda plurality of layers of saturated felt upon the roof structure,

Patented Mar. :25, 1930 UNETED stars Parser orsicsf CHARLES, G. riirno'r'r, 0E STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, nssreuon To THE isA'nnEri COMPANY, A CORPjORATION OF NEVT JERSEY DEVICE FOR sPREAnInG izrruiuEn Application filed November 2, 1926; Serial No. 145,747.

This invention relates to bitumen spread- I ers and relates moreparticularly to a portable device for spreading pitch or other bi tumen in the laying of roofing felt.

When building large roofs such as those ings, etc., it has been the practice to place a coating each layer with pitch or asphalt before the succeeding layer of felt is applied and to. then coat the top ply of felt with a thick. layer of bitumen such as pitch or asphalt. Heretofore; this has been done by hand, thebitumen being heated-in tanks upon the ground and hauled to the roof in buckets where it is utilized, the bitumen being spread upon the roof by the use of squeegees and mops. Needless to say,'this' involves considerable labor and numerous diffi'culties, are encountered, such as thenbitumen freezing? before it is completely spread. My invention includes a portable tank mounted upon suitable wheels or trucks, the

' tank being adapted to be continuously heated and to contain a bitumen such as coal tar pitch, asphalt, or any other viscous material. located in the lower portion of the tank'are a set of valve controlledopenings constructed in a manner,and for a purpose, more fully hereinafter to'be. described.

It isamong the objects of my invention, to provide. a readily portable device for spreads ingbitumen upon a surface, such as a roof, in any desired width or thickness of stream. It is, further, among the objects of my inven 7 tion to provide for properly supplying heat i Fig. 2 is a. plan-viewthereofL to the bitumen in saiddevice and especially to; the bitumen as it flows through the valve controlled openings; f 1

Further objects and th e' specific nature of my invention will be more fully understood" pendeddrawing made a part hereof; In the drawing, in which, like reference characters refer to' like parts, Fig.1 isfa vertical section taken along the 1ine.1 l .1 ofFig. 2. r r I r Fig. 3 is:a section thereof taken along thehandle 8, having therefore,

.ings 17, 18,- 19

,Above the upperv left tank is positioned a M ssa new u es Fig. 4 is a sectionof-the valve controlled openings taken along the line 0f Fig.3.

The reference character 1 designates generally the tank which I propose to employ and which may be smaller at the bottom than at the top. Insulation 2 may be provided to increase the thermal efficiency of the tankand a hinged lid 8 in the top of the tank is employed for purposes of inspection, cleaning, filling, etc. The tank 1 may be mounted, by

means of brackets At and 5 secured to the tank, upon wheels G and 7 respectively; The brackets 9 and 10 secured to thetank, may" also be provided by which my device canbe properly manipulated upon the roof.

' In the lowerportion of the tank 1 and extending through the sides thereof, is located a combustion chamber 12below whichis positioned a return horizontal; flue 13 (with which the combustion chamber is connected) leading to the stack 14. The upper wall 15 of the flue 13 constitutes a continuation of one of the walls of the tank 1, as will be readily observed from Fig. 1. An oil burner 16 of any suitable type supplies the necessary combustible vapors to the combustion chamber 12 for heating the bitumen which may be'placed in the tank. Oil for the oil burner 16 is supplied from tank 16 which is mounted upon the handle bracket 9.

In the lower portion of the tank 1' are longitudinal openings or slotsmlY, 18, 19 and '20 formed by sloping walls 21, 22, 23 and 24. The walls 21 and 22fmayhe reinforced by vanes 25. and 26 respectively. The assembly constituting the slots'17, 18, 191and 20 and the vanes 25 and 26, is welded or otherwise secured in proper, position ina longitudinal opening in the bottom of. the. tank as will'be readily observed from Fig.1. Any bitumen in thetank 1 (initsupright position) can, only How therefrom thru theopen:

men that is allowed to flow thru openings 17,

valves 28, 29, 3.0 and 31, respectively. I

hand portion'of the horizontal shaft 32'- and 20., The'amount of bitui .95 18', 19, and 20 is controlledby tapered plug When the bitumen of 32 and 36 inches.

in place, the valves 28, 29,

the tank 1. Upon the shaft 32 is keyed an adjustable lever 34 adapted to be held in position by the adjustment assembly 35. To the shaft 32 are also keyed lever arms 36, 37 and 38. Thru the top of the tank 1 and secured to the valves 28, 29, 30 and 31, respectively, are rods 11, 1-2, 43 and 4 1. These rods are in turn secured by removable pins to the lever arms 34., 36, 37 and 38, respectively.

To the brackets 5 is secured scraping or squeegee member which can be adjusted vertically and/or horizontally as desired for a purpose later to be described.

The operation of the device is as follows:

. The bitumen which itis desired to spread upon the intended surface, such for instance, as a roof, is placed in the tank 1 thru the opening at the top of the tank, the openings 17, 18, 19 and 20 being closed by the valves 28, 29, and 31. The bitumen is heated by means of the oil burner until said bitumen has reached the proper fluidity, the amount of heat required being dependent upon the melting point of the bitumen being used. has reached the proper luidity, the entire device is positioned over the place where it is desired to commence the spreading of the bitumen.

Assuming that it is desired to spread the bitumen upon a roof, the strip of felt which it is desired to coat having been previously laid, the spreader is positioned over the strip of felt. Roofing felt is ordinarily made up in standard widths, such for instance as widths In laying these strips of felt a standard overlap of the strips is employed, such overlap being usually 11, 18,

23 and 26 inches. The opening 17 is of approximately the same length as the width of V the narrowest standard overlap. By the addition to opening 17 of openings 18 or openings 18 and 19 or 18, 19 and 20, an opening can be obtained of approximately the same length as the width of the remaining standard overlaps usually employed. Assuming that it is desired to employ the entire spreading width of the device and that the device is 30 and 31 are lifted by meanszof the lever 34: and adjusted 1 so that the proper thickness of stream of bitumen flows from the openings, and the device is moved lengthwise of the strip of felt at a speed proper to deposit the desired thickness of bitumen upon the strip.

In the event that it is desired to spread upon a strip of felt a narrower width of bitumen, one or more of the valves may be uncoupled from their respective lever arms, be-

7 thus maintaining. the

ginning with the narrowest valve. For instance, if it is desired that the width of spread shall be equivalent to the width of openings 17 and 18, the valves 30 and 31 are uncoupled from the lever arms 37 and 38 respectively, openings. 19 and 20 closed. The lever arm 34; would, therefore,

only lift valves 28 and 29. Any other combination desired may likewise be resorted to. When the desired length of strip has been coated, the lever arm 34 is so manipulated as to close the valves which have been opened.

As before intimated, the amount of bitumen which is spread upon the roof may be regulated in two ways, either by the speed with which the device is moved along the strip or by the clearance between the valves and the walls of the openings.

The advantage of having the combustion chamber 12 and the flue 13 located as illustrated, is that the valve and valve openings are always maintained at the hottest temperature, the heat supplied to the device being communicated directly to the valve and valve openings so that the bitumen will at all times be maintained at its greatest fluidity at this point. Freezing or sticking of the valves and clogging of the openings will thus be substantially eliminated. v

The spreader 45 may be adjusted vertically and/or horizontally so as to properly distribute the bitumen over any uneven portions of the roof and may also serve to mop the bitumen into the felt, thus procuring proper adhesionof the bitumen thereto.

The many advantages of my invention will be readily apparent from the above description. Those particularly worthy of note, are the elimination of hand pouring and mopping of the bitumen as well as the fact that by the use of my device, a'uniform layer and width of desired of the bitumen may be Furthermore, any one of a number widths of spread employed.

I claim:

1. In a device for spreading bitumen, the combination of a tank having a longitudinal slot in the bottom thereof, sloping walls positioned in the bottom of said tank defining a plurality of smaller aligned slots and forming valve seats in conjunction with said smaller slots, and a plurality of selectively operable tapered valves adapted to seat in said valve seats for controlling the amount and extent of distribution of bitumen from said tank.

2. A device for spreading bitumen comprising, in combination, a portably mounted tank having walls converging'toward the bottom, a heating flue in the bottom of the tank with its upper wall constituting a continuation of a wall of the tank, a combustion chamber located above and connected to the flue, parallel converging walls secured in the bottom of the tank adjacent the heating flue, sloping division walls connecting said parallel walls to form a plurality of tapered slots therewith, a tapered plug valve for'each of said slots, a rod extending upward from each valve, a shaft mounted for oscillation upon said tank, a lever arm for each rod keyed to said shaft, a removable pin connecting a lever arm and its associated rod, operating means for oscillating said shaft, a scraping member adjustably secured to said tank in operative relation to said slots, and means for moving said tank.

3. In a device for spreading bitumen, the

combination of a mobile tank, members defining a series of aligned slots of varying length extending longitudinally of the bottom of said tank for the distribution of a sheet of bitumen therefrom transversely of the path of motion of said tank, and valve means cooperating With said slots for varying the extent of said distribution of said bitumen.

4. In a device for spreading bitumen, the combination of a tank, members defining a slot extending longitudinally of the bottom of said tank for distributing bitumen there from, and a combustion chamber arranged internally of said tank adjacent said slot defining members and substantially co extensive with said slot for heating bitumen distributed through said slot.

5. In a device for spreading bitumen, the combination of a tank, members defining an elongated slot extending longitudinally of the bottom of said tank for distributing bitumen therefrom, a combustion chamber arranged internally of said tank adjacent said slot defining members and substantially coextensive With said slot, and a flue connected; with said combustion chamber and substantially co-extending With said slot internally of said tank adjacent said slot defining members.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature.

CHARLES G. TALBOTT. 

